Please spec me a guitar + amp for a beginner guitarist

[peteruk]

Hey all,

After having wanted to take up an instrument for some time ( I felt an urge for some musical expression/creativity), I’ve recently been watching/playing friends’ electric guitars and have been inspired to get my own, as that’s how I’ll develop my ability (practicing in spare time) and of course enjoy.

Now, as you’d expect, I have done some research (including on here) as to what’s best for me to get for starting off. Now my budget for both guitar and amp together is £150-£200, though as usual, if necessary I could pay a little more if it was worth it. I’d quite like to know too what your views are on buying second hand guitars/amps as I may consider this as an option to help get more out of my money.

As for guitar, I’m looking for something that’s going to be good value and quite easy to play (I am only a beginner after all ). Sounding good is also important, but good looks are not so (if you can actually buy ugly guitars these days), as I’m not about to be playing on stage with it. The best suggestion I’ve had so far is the Yamaha Pacifica 112, which is about £179 new, but only around £100 - £120 used. I’ve heard comments such as ‘ by far the best choice in this price group’, so this could be a hard choice to beat. Any from the selection in here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=425 could also be options, but I think this one comes out on top. Also to note, I noticed the ‘Vintage The Zip’ guitar in a review magazine; they said for £159 it was great value and had good playability, but I’m not sure how flexible it is and it is also a single pickup guitar (though not being a pro, I can’t say what effect this has on the guitar).

As for amp I have two real paths. Firstly, I could do the standard thing and get a cheapish amp (unfortunately the only option I’ve seen so far is the Roland Cube 15Watts, which was recommended on here a few weeks back), or, something someone else suggested: getting a so-called ‘amp head’ (‘amp front’ should that be? ), which has all the controls and functions of an amp but outputs to speakers (I have a sonic T and a pair of Mission M72s I could use with such a thing). Perhaps that could help me get more out of my money.

Lastly, it would be handy if those of you who know particularly good teach-yourself sites could post links, as although I’ll probably end up getting lessons, I’d quite like some resources to get started first.

So get speci-ng! Thanks to all who can help; as you can probably tell, I’m not very knowledgeable on the subject and any posts are welcome!

 

[peteruk]

Thanks for all your advice so far people!

Although I can understand what you're saying about starting on accoustic, I think my enthusiasm for the accoustic is much less, so although seeing the warnings, I think I will jump straight in on the electric .

The amp options are looking good, with the Roland Cubes (I'm not entirely sure how the different cubes in the range differ, but I'll check their website in a sec) and that GM108 both seeming to be great choices. No one has said anything about those amp control unit things, so it's probably best if I stay away from them.

I'm still holding the Yamaha Pacifica 112 as my top choice, but there is one thing I'm wondering:

I bought a ... Yamaha Pacifica 112MX the other week on recomendations from here.

Is that 112MX just the full name for the 112, or is there a difference?
And yep, I did read your thread, very useful!

 

[peteruk]

Just to further the last point in the last post:

Now I can guess the '112L' is the left handed one, but the 'J', 'JX', 'M', and 'MX' are beyond me. Could the J be for junior perhaps?

 

[peteruk]

The standard response to this question is a Pacifica 112 and a Roland Cube

However.....

[idea]

Just a suggestion anyway, the other answers that fit your price range are pretty much spot on if thats the route you want to go

I'm sure for the right person, that's a great path to take. However, I can't see myself being in a band for quite a while, and if I ever do, then I would have been bedroom playing for so long I'd have earnt enough for a better beast. I hate to say it, but I think my enthusiasm would decrease considerably if I played the accoustic for long.

I can see before me just two more questions:

A) What kind of 112 to get. I heard someone say the natural finish was slightly easier to play.

B) The GM108 Vs. a roland cube (what size...?)

I shall go do some more contemplating...

 

[peteruk]

Next piece of advice, if you are only going to be bedroom playing, and assuming you have a stereo, rather than get an amp, get a V-amp. This will cost around £70 new, so about the same as a practice amp. You'll be able to use headphones, play/record through both your stereo and PC and learn about all the different effects that pedals make. They also include a really good tuner, and can model many different kinds of amplifiers, rather than just be stuck with one sound

That sounds like a very good idea. So that V-amp has both ampped (straight to speakers) and 'un-amped' (to pc, then own amp, then speakers) outputs. Interesting. But I'm guessing there's software that does a lesser version of what the V-amp does that I could start off with? £70 could be quite a lot to spend to start off with...

Back to guitar...
I just thought to look on the Yamaha site: http://www.yamaha-europe.com/yamaha_...ars/index.html

So from what I can tell:
112 - Rosewood fingerboard
112m - Maple fingerboard
112L - Rosewood fingerboard, Left handed
112X - Rosewood fingerboard, Black Scratchplate + co. , only available in natural satin.
112mx - Maple fingerboard, Black Scratchplate + co. , only available in natural satin.

I'm guessing some retailers substitute in a 'J' for the Rosewood models.

I guess the only choice here is Rosewood or Maple, as the colours and finishes are purely aesthetic (though someone did say the natural satin was easier to play - smoother I guess?). From what I can gather, the Maple is more popular, and gives a brighter tone. Without knowing what sort of tone I'm after, I think I'll just take my chances and go for a 112MX/112M, there can't be too much difference in them anyway.

1) Don't buy into the idea that guitars are fashion items, they are not. Purchase your guitar because of how it sounds and how its built, not how it looks.

Yep, of course. That's how I've been thinking from the start.

 

[peteruk]

After much consideration, I'm now pretty sure I'm going to get a 112MX and input it into my M-Audio sounds card to experiment with software effects and recording, and then see if a V-amp or maybe even stand alone amp is a worthy investment afterwards.

Before I consider buying a new 112MX (although whatever I do I'll make a point of popping into a few guitar shops and playing around), I'm tracking a few good shots on ebay. However, there's something that bothers me. There's someone selling what appears to be a 112MX, as they claim it has a maple neck and maple scratchplate, but the scratchplate is white. Now that may seem a strange thing to worry about, but it just seems on the Yamaha Website and a pacifica catalouge page a music store assistant gave my friend:

The 112MXs are only ever shown as having black ones.

Is the seller mistaken, or am I just making a lot of fuss over nothing?

EDIT: The scratchplate is probably available in both colours on the 112MX.

I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank everyone again. Some things said on here have really inspired me, and people have gone the extra mile to be helpful. Yet another gem in my flawless experience with the OcUK forums.

 

[peteruk]

I'm not 100% on the answer to this, but are you sure you can go directly to a soundcard - Assuming of course yours isn't one of the m-audio ones with the mixer attached when you obviously can.

Well I have the Audiophile 2496, and the person who suggested the idea is also using the same soundcard, and said it worked perfectly, though I'd need a 1/4" >RCA adapter

 

[peteruk]

i'd suggest going through a mixer...such as a nice balanced mic input that you can mic up your amp with, which will sound plenty better than a Direct Input approach.

Hmm, I'm not entirely sure what you mean...

Also, if it's not too basic-a-question to ask, what actually is a mixer? I'm pretty sure this soundcard has one built in, as in the 'Delta Control Panel' there is a 'Monitor Mixer' screen. Then again, you'd know.